Celebrate 75 years of continuous operation! Take a look back into the past and see a vision for a sustainable future. A complimentary copy of our Anniversary Edition will be shipped to all Community Solutions Members. If you are a member and have not received your copy, contact info@communitysolution.org.

A review of the 2008 conference, an examination of how energy might be behind our current economic crisis, the director's take on Peak Debt, and more. Note: printed version is two-color, not the full color of the PDF.

The first issue in our new format, featuring lessons from a recent home retrofit, the introduction of the Peak Debt concept, a community food progress report, a new idea for considering ROI on energy-savings investments, and more. Note: printed version is two-color, not the full color of the PDF.

The application of fossil fuels to our food system has been disastrous, affecting not only how we grow food but what we grow. This report looks at what we eat, the consequences to our health and our environment, who's to blame for this situation and what to do about it. Transitioning to a low energy diet could be the most important way to save the planet and to save ourselves.

Reliance on large-scale agribusiness, driven by vast energy consumption, has resulted in an agricultural monoculture that is simply not sustainable. But where are the tens of millions of small farmers who will be necessary if we are to return to locally grown food crops? And what about all the food that is being used for feed, and now, for fuel? This report looks at what we're doing now, and what we'll need to do to survive.

The private car, regardless of its convenience, can no longer serve as theprinciple mode of people transport. Its high cost, the depleting of fossil fuels, and climate deterioration – along with high rates of deaths and injuries - make it unacceptable. A "Smart Jitney" system could be developed rapidly, and provide for a very sizable (50-75%) reduction of gasoline consumed and greenhouse gases generated by transportation. It could also be the model for a new and more efficient approach to personal mobility.

The energy used (and CO2 generated) by the automobile or from food production is less than the energy used in our buildings, and building energy consumption has been continually increasing in spite of improvements in building and appliance efficiency. This report delves deeply into energy consumption in the home component of the total building infrastructure, and what you can do to reduce your home energy use.

A basic societal transformation is needed to change from the three principle values of Competing, Hoarding and Consuming to values of Cooperating, Sharing and Conserving. To usefully “think globally-act locally” we must conserve here at home and we must cooperate at home and abroad in finding just and equitable solutions to the challenges of Peak Oil, climate change and inequity. This report shows what individual can do to make a difference now as we may not be able to afford to wait for governments or corporations.

Today we have such greed that we are destroying our own children’s future by our massive use of limited fossil fuel resources. Our scientists and engineers, who have brought us to this point with the best of intentions, don’t propose cutting back our use but rather spur us on to find new ways to consume more.

We don’t seem to realize the cost of our massive energy consumption on the poorer people of the world, on our own health, and the health of the environment. Although interest in Peak Oil is growing, most do not yet fully understand that this means the “American Way of Life” will be over within a few decades. This report explains what actions we can take now to reduce our energy use.

Just as we threaten the stability of the world with our imperialistic tendencies, we also pose a threat to ourselves as our standards of care and community decline and it becomes more difficult for average Americans to attain or sustain well-being. How does this bode for our place in the world? Is the American Century over? When the impact of Peak Oil really hits, how will we deal with it?

When Peak Oil occurs, wars of national energy liberation are highly likely unless we allocate the remaining fuels based on a concept of fair trade rather than free trade. This requires a fundamental change in American values. Unless the tremendous inequity in fossil fuel usage is addressed, conflict is inevitable.

This issue examines the impact of Peak Oil on the world economic structure, one built on the confidence in ever-expanding markets fueled by technology, itself fueled by oil. Our analysis suggests that there is every reason for concern – and unless serious action is begun now, we may very well be headed toward another Great Depression. We are hovering on the edge of an unsustainable Peak Economy.

A serious societal problem is our lack of understanding of energy options, their history and their limitations. Governments, corporations and scientists are not offering new creative solutions, not because they are failing to make strong efforts, but because energy itself is a very mature industry. It would seem that – in addition to Peak Oil – we are at a time of Peak Technology...there are no new technologies we can look to for the “ultimate” solution to the end of fossil fuels.

This issue of New Solutions brings to our readers the latest information on Peak Oil, obtained when we attended the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas (ASPO) conference May 2004 in Germany. It also explores if the proposed “hydrogen economy” as a panacea or a hoax.

Community Solutions traveled to Cuba in 2004 to see how they survived after the loss of oil imports when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990. They found a people, optimistic and hopeful, who lived with less but understond and appreciated the importance and inter-relatedness of community. In this issue we share our observations of this post-industrial society living with greatly reduced oil.

In 2004, this first issue of New Solutions marked a major change in the strategy of the Arthur Morgan Institute for Community Solutions. We had recently begun directing our energies towards the study of “Peak Oil,” which led us to a heightened understanding of the need – not just the desire – for living in small, sustainable communities. In this issue we chronicle our path to this new awareness and define the issue. We think you’ll agree – small local communities are a vital part of the solution to what lies ahead.